Elembar
Elembar was the first human realm of the North to come to an accord with the elves and establish a realm in the interior. Generations of Northmen had established settlements up and down the coast, but were prevented by elven arrows from forging inland. In the two centuries after the raising of the Standing Stone, the rise of the infamous Shoon Empire far to the south saw a diaspora of Tethyrian humans from the lands of present-day Tethyr and Amn, most of whom travelled north and northeast, seeking lands to settle free from tyranny and slavery. The majority of those settlers founded settlements in what are now known as the Fields of the Dead and the Greenfields (although in bygone eras this region had a plethora of names: the elves called it Askavar which also served as the name of a short-lived realm of moon elves that fled the fall of Keltormir; the dwarves of Shanatar named it Tynnor (literally “field of danger”) when they trekked northwards to found the Lost Kingdoms, disliking its open spaces; and many early humans called it simply Olar, or “the Wide” in the ancient Thorass tongue, for it was the biggest open expanse of territory early humans ever encountered, surrounded as they were by elven forests and dwarven and goblinoid-held mountains). A courageous few, travelled even further north, lured by tales of fallen Netheril and the great elven empire of Aryvandaar, which promised immense riches to those willing to brave the slumbering dangers of these vanished realms. The founding of the settlement of Tavaray by Clan Aulgaard of Ruathym in the Year of the Phandar (-50 DR) represented a new influx of settlers from the island kingdoms of the Trackless Sea, beset at the time by famine brought on by a series of bad fishing seasons and the depredations of drow raiders from Karsoluthiyl. This fishing and trading port soon assumed significant importance for coastal trade, forming a bridge between the mercantile kingdoms of the south and famed Illusk to the far north. Beginning in 82 DR, Tavaray experienced an influx of Tethyrians in the form of religious refugees fleeing the persecutions of Qysar Shoon II. Among them were a band of worshippers of the deity Eldath, led by the Archdruid Elembar, who had fled their forest grove home in the foothills of the western Cloud Peaks after repeated incursions from Shoon-sponsored brigands who roamed the Ralamnish Ridings (present-day Amn). Elembar and his followers did not settle in burgeoning Tavaray proper, but established small grove settlements on the fringes of the Ardeep Forest. At first, the elves were concerned and the younger, more intolerant warriors, wishing to prove themselves in battle, urged Laranla Embrae Aloevan to lead them to bloody war, scouring their forest of the intruders and then in turn driving the humans of Tavaray into the sea. The wise Embrae counselled patience, noting that in ages past, other elven lands had sought to war on humans, only to lose or at best obtain détente when the elves could find no answer to humanity’s numbers. In this regard Embrae was guided by visions received from the goddess Sehanine, showing her that her life and the future of Ardeep were now inextricably linked with humankind. She therefore began to consort with humans in various spellspun guises, manipulating and thwarting those who would do ill to the Ardeep, but forming friendships and growing to love those humans who were of a different bent; those who were committed to peace and harmony and wished to live in accord with the mysterious elves of the woodlands. Of those humans, Embrae learned to love and respect Elembar of Eldath the most. Revealing herself to him in the Year of the Quiet Valley (93 DR), she allowed him and his druid acolytes to travel freely through select areas of the Ardeep Forest (then much bigger and encompassing the open lands between the present-day Ardeep Forest and Forlorn Hills) following the clear forest streams to the site of deep springs which were used as sites of worship in the Eldathyn rite known as the Cleansing. Within a (human) generation, the elves of Ardeep had established a trademeet in a clearing at the very south-western fringes of their forest and Laranla Embrae had established the Oak Pact with Clanlord Unndor Aulgaard, ruler of Tavaray, which acknowledged their respective territorial boundaries and formalised matters of trade and diplomatic ties. Through all this, the clarity of thought and measured presence of the now venerable Elembar was a boon to both the humans of Tavaray and the Ardeep elves, and his wisdom averted many conflicts as the years rolled on. However disaster struck in the Year of the Jagged Leaves (114 DR), when the venerable green dragon Draeithimatar, forced out of his High Forest lair after coming to the unwelcome attention of the deadly Imvaernarho of the Star Mounts, descended on Ardeep Forest seeking to claim it as his own. The battle might of Ardeep whelmed swiftly and the great wyrm was laid low in a titanic battle above the trees when Laranla Embrae Aloevan and a host of elven knights and wizards mounted on spectral pegasi assailed the dragon. In its death throes, the wyrm’s venomous breath coupled with the effects of its shimmering spell mantle, thought to be of Netherese origin, devastated the south-central portion of the forest, leaving a desolate, poisoned uninhabitable scar. While the elves mourned the damage to the forest, Elembar of Eldath and his fellow druids, now gathered in the Stillwater Circle, set about healing the land. In a mighty weaving of magic, blessed sages say by the touch of the Green Goddess herself, Elembar brought life back to the blasted soil, crowning the ritual with the willing sacrifice of his own. That area of land, whilst healed, remained treeless and came to be called the Dragonfields by both elves and humans alike. In the Year of the Prowling Naga (142 DR), the city-state of Tavaray saw the arrival of a fleet of ships from the island realm of Daerimathlor (a realm that took in the isles around the Race, off present-day Tethyr), fleeing the devastation wrought to their homes by the mighty spellbattle between their erstwhile ruler, the Mage-King Thaerdimor and the wizard Flaerivus Grevauldyn, who would become Magister of Mystra in 151 DR. Led by the warrior Caruth Darskul, these Tethyrian refugees were not welcomed by the Northmen of Tavaray, who distrusted them as “southern outlanders”. Despite settling at the fringes of that realm’s holdings, Caruth’s people could not abide the prejudice that they experienced on a daily basis from the folk of Tavaray and looked to Caruth to lead them to new lands where they could live in peace and raise their families. He led them eventually east along the south bank of the Delimbiyr, and when they entered the lands of Artor Morlin, Lord of the Steeping Falls, an initially tense first meeting of armsmen soon saw Caruth fall under the charms of the Baron of Blood. Morlin counselled him that travel further east would take them into dwarven lands and that the Stout Folk jealously guarded their delvings. He suggested that the clear fields between Ardeep and the Dark Hills presented an opportunity for Caruth’s people to claim territory of their own and told him the tale of Elembar and his great sacrifice. And so it was that in the Year of the Pirate’s Port (145 DR), Caruth and his followers travelled north into ostensibly elven lands, finding the green expanse of the Dragonfields and settling there. The elves of Ardeep were perturbed but unsure of how to proceed, for these lands held no elven settlements or inhabitants as the Ardeep elves preferred to live beneath the tree boughs not under clear skies. In typical fashion, Laranla Embrae dealt with the conundrum in her own unique way. She marched into the human encampment, her spells preventing anyone who would bar her passage from moving a muscle, and called for Caruth to come forth. He warily exited his tent and confronted the elven monarch he had heard so much about. In an eyeblink, her mouth found his and that instant she whisked him away with her wizardry, only a fleeting waft of perfume to mark that she had ever been there. Caruth was missing for a year. Every attempt by the humans to press on into the lands of the Ardeep elves was firmly rebuffed, although no violence was visited upon them. Spells of misdirection and illusion kept them confined in the Dragonfields and only those who trekked south and west back to Tavaray and the coast were allowed passage. In the first bloom of spring, Caruth returned to his people. Less proud in his bearing and with the first signs of age on his hitherto ebon locks, Caruth wore a hauberk of fine elven mail, bore a sword of exquisite workmanship, and talked of elves, peace and his love for Laranla Embrae Aloevan of Ardeep. Days later, when he planted the scarlet chimera standard of his clan in the turf before his assembled people, he proclaimed the establishment of the Darskul dynasty and the founding of the realm of Elembar, named for the man who had shown the elves that humans could live as one with the People. The rulers of Tavaray are presented below: Monarch Realm Ruled Birth Death Reigned Notes Aulgaard Dynasty Threlgar, “the Stormborn” Tavaray -112 -11 -50/-21 Clan elder; Leads his people from Ruathym and founds Tavaray at the mouth of the River Delimbiyr; Dies of old age. Ruulf Tavaray -73 -1 -21/-1 2nd son of Threlgar; Dies in battle with trolls. Brandur, “the Flamespear” Tavaray -48 12 -1/12 1st son of Ruulf; Lost in an expedition to eradicate the trolls of the southern forests. Skorgal Tavaray -19 39 12/39 3rd son of Brandur; Dies of winterchill fever. Framar, “the Grim” Tavaray 7 51 39/51 Son and sole heir of Skorgal; Lost at sea after a great storm. Halthar Tavaray 30 92 51/92 1st son of Framar; Dies of old age. Jarulf, “the Ill-Fated” Tavaray 55 92(?) 92 1st son of Halthar; Spell-cursed by the wizard Suul of Illusk to involuntarily change shape at every highsun, Jarulf disappears after a few months on the throne, with most believing him dead by his own hand. Unndor Tavaray 60 114 92/114 2nd son of Halthar; Dies in battle with trolls. Lornil Tavaray 89 145 114/145 3rd son of Unndor; Slain by assassins whilst visiting the holding of his vassal Uth Myrmoran. Helgart, “Longstride” Tavaray 116 ? 145/154 1st son of Lornil; Famed traveller who treks north with a group of retainers and braves the dangers of Undermountain, never to be seen again. Draagar Tavaray 121 160 154/160 2nd son of Lornil; Dies of winterchill fever. Ragnar, “the Beardless” Tavaray 142 182 160/182 1st son of Draagar; Slain in the blood feud that erupts between the Darskuls and the Aumars, who are driven out of Tavaray. Evald, “the Brave” Tavaray 162 242 182/225 Son and sole heir of Ragnar; Rides to war with the elves of Ardeep against the orc horde of Gluthtor and is slain at the Battle of Hungry Arrows. Ingmar, “the Foolish” Tavaray 191 270 225/270 2nd son of Evald; Dies of old age. Narthel Tavaray 218 275 270/275 Son and sole heir of Ingmar; Dies after a fall from a horse. Erundar Tavaray 233 281 275/281 Son and sole heir of Narthel; Dies of plague. Agundar Tavaray 256 338 281/302 Son and sole heir of Erundar; Orders the abandonment of Tavaray and leads his people north to settle in the lands around Deepwater Harbor. The rulers of Elembar are presented below: Monarch Realm Ruled Birth Death Reigned Notes Darskul Dynasty Caruth Elembar 102 179 146/179 Clan elder; Leads his people from Daerimathlor in a great sea voyage north and founds the realm of Elembar and its first settlement and capital Delimbiyran; Dies of old age. Caruth II Elembar 133 209 179/209 1st son of Caruth I; Dies of old age; Davilarhh I Elembar 164 219 209/217 Son and sole heir of Caruth II; Dies in the Great Fires that destroy the Halangorn Forest whilst out hunting. Farryd I, “the Fierce” Elembar 191 225 217/225 1st son of Davilarhh I; Rides to war with the elves of Ardeep against the orc horde of Gluthtor and is slain at the Battle of Five Falcons. Prince Farryd* Elembar 220 228 DNR Son and sole heir of Farryd I; Dies before he can take the throne, some say murdered by his regent uncle. Narilath R Elembar 195 263 225/228 228/263 2nd son of Davilarhh I; Regent for his young nephew before he claims the throne; Dies without issue. Larnorth I, “the Towerlord” Elembar 221 269 263/269 Nephew of Narilath by his sister Jhessail; Hires dwarven stonemasons of Dardath to build Delimbiyran’s first stone walls; Slain whilst leading his armsmen against an incursion of ogres from the Horn Hills; Dies without issue. Caruth III Elembar 226 294 269/294 Nephew of Narilath by his sister Jhessail; Slain by Malarites in the Watchers of the North whilst travelling to the Mlembryn lands. Gelidarhh, “the Tormented” Elembar 256 295 294/295 1st son of Caruth III; Born lame and with a withered swordarm; Commits suicide after learning of his wife’s adultery with his brother. Davilarhh II Elembar 260 330 295/330 2nd son of Caruth III; Marries his dead brother’s wife; Dies of old age. Davilarhh III, “the Bloody” Elembar 297 342 330/342 1st son of Davilarhh II; Dies in battle with the orcs of the Horde of Black Banners, leading his warriors in a valiant attempt to aid the realm of Athalantar. Larnorth II Elembar 305 354 342/354 3rd son of Davilarhh II; Dies in battle with barbarians raiding south out of the Dessarin Valley. Tarilath I Elembar 326 402 354/402 1st son of Larnorth II; Dies of old age. Tarilath II Elembar 353 422 402/422 Son and sole heir of Tarilath I; Dies as a result of plague. Harnorth I, “the Blackaxe” Elembar 383 442 422/442 2nd son and sole heir of Tarilath II; Slain by Ghaulantatra, the “Old Mother Wyrm” whilst travelling to Westdelve for the accession of Axelord Emerlyn. Caruth IV, “the Greybeard” Elembar 409 499 442/499 Son and sole heir of Harnorth I; Dies of old age. Harnorth II Elembar 470 511 499/511 Grandson of Caruth IV; Dies in battle against the orcs of the Whiteclaw Horde out of the Sword Mountains; The realm of Elembar is laid waste and its dominion is reduced to the environs of the capital Delimbiyran. Category:Human settlements Category:Settlements in Northwest Faerûn